Copyright Records

This ongoing project presents records of copyright ownership from the United States Copyright Office for the period from July 1891 through December 1977. The Catalogs of Copyright Entries (CCEs) are published compilations of copyright registration records cataloged in periods ranging from semiweekly to semiannually. There are 660 CCE volumes arranged by year, cataloging period, and class of material. The volumes are being digitized in reverse chronological order starting with 1977.

The Catalogs of Copyright Entries contain records of registrations only. They do not contain any references to transfer, assignment, or other documents recorded in the Copyright Office pertinent to copyrights. These entries alone may not reflect the complete Copyright Office record pertaining to a particular work. Contact the U.S. Copyright Office for information about any additional records that may exist.

The very first CCEs contained very simple entries of titles and claimants entered as they occurred with no index and no registration numbers. In the mid 1890s sequencing by claimant and title was introduced. Some very early CCE volumes have the claimant name centered over multiple entries of works registered for the same claimant such as photographs and musical works. Starting in 1898, the entries contained more facts and were arranged by author or by title for periodicals, music and anonymous works. An index by claimant name and title was included. From the mid 1970s they were arranged by registration number with an accompanying name and title index.

Visit the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov

To view a list of these volumes arranged chronologically, please click here!